Providing access to culture for all

Introducing opera to young people

Encouraging art practice

Dream Up

Cultural transmission

Bolstered by its experience with the Dream Up programme, the Foundation has decided to strengthen its cultural actions for young people by supporting:

• The choir school La Maîtrise de Radio France (created by the French national public radio broadcaster “Radio France”)
• “La Résidence Pro”: a vocational residency programme for secondary students and young graduates at Villa Medici
• The only secondary school course in France that allows students to include an option in hip-hop dance at Paris’ Lycée Turgot
• The participative project “Au cœur de l’Athénée” to introduce young people to the theatre, led by the l’Athénée Théâtre Louis-Jouvet
• And the Zip Zap Circus School in South Africa, which uses the circus arts to foster personal development, social integration and job creation.

Through an unprecedented philanthropic initiative by the BNP Paribas Group, the Foundation is also supporting new cultural projects, such as:

• The Wizz (Women in Jazz) jazz camp for young women run by the Jazz sous les pommiers festival in Coutances, France
• Propulsion, a programme sponsored by Compagnie Tangram to accelerate the careers of young jazz talent
• CinéFabrique, the Marseille branch of the French National Film and Multimedia School
• The Marseille branch of the film school Kourtajmé, an audiovisual training school open to all
• Un pas vers la jeunesse, , a project to increase accessibility to the Maison de la danse de Lyon for young dancers
• The Lyon branch of Elan, the school of equal opportunities for dance, created by the Centre National de la danse (French National Dance Centre)
• The Divertimento symphonic orchestra
• And the Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne’s Foundation ‘Delphine Levy’ Chair

The BNP Paribas Foundation, a pioneer in supporting hip-hop 

A history of love

As a vehicle for excellence and equal opportunity, dance has been an art form dear to the BNP Paribas Foundation since 1986. Our mission:

to explore new approaches to choreography and music with the aim of encouraging diverse and inclusive stories.

The Foundation’s history with hip-hop began with support for artists – choreographers and dancers – who were already well known in the world of urban dance: for example, Jann Gallois, Amala Dianor, Wang Ramirez and, more recently, Leïla Ka.

Through its support for exploratory, trailblazing artistic creation, the Foundation has developed equally innovative sponsorship that promotes access to culture.

‘Hip-hop Turgot’ x the BNPP Foundation: aiming for excellence through dance 

We bring in artists, work with cultural organisations and share experiences. We want to create the best possible conditions for students to combine academic success with passion for the arts. – David Bérillon

The lycée, in the Marais in Paris, allows upper secondary students to take street dance classes for between 7 and 15 hours a week in addition to the standard school curriculum.

This option has around 60 students, with almost as many girls as boys. Every year, around a hundred candidates from all over France (and even internationally) apply in the hope of being selected for the programme.

Karile Richard, headmistress of Lycée Turgot, says:

he Foundation’s support is integral to the students’ development, contributing to their cultural and artistic awareness, promoting their well-being and giving them the drive to surpass themselves.

Our support has enabled:

• The broadcast of a collection of videos bringing hip-hop to iconic locations in Paris and showcasing dancers from ‘Hip-Hop Turgot’:

Demonstrating the range of the dancers’ talent, the videos can be used by students on their social networks or for their promotional materials.  

• An encounter between the students and Jann Gallois, a choreographer also supported by the Foundation. This collaboration came about following an invitation from Suresnes Cités Danse 2024 and resulted in the creation of an odyssey of movement that is a hymn to youth and the power of the collective, staged in two performances.
• ‘Hip-Hop Turgot’ revisits Ravel’s Boléro (article in French)

Once the Lycée Turgot students have obtained their baccalaureate, these talented young people trained in hip-hop techniques and the world of battles, choreographic creations and performances can go on to become professional dancers: for example, by joining the Génération Turgot collective.